Verizon at Home - Page 2

Ed.'s note: The following is courtesy of Verizon FiOS Ambassador Monica Villa. Tweet her @TheOnlineMom.

I have always thought that the ultimate luxury in mobile entertainment would be lying in bed watching live TV on my iPad. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not averse to curling up on the couch either, but there is something particularly appealing about getting under the covers to watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones or to catch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last thing at night.

In addition to a variety of season premieres, finales and your usual dramas, comedies and reality TV shows, FiOS also has a free preview this week. From today through next weekend, http://www.foxsoccerplus.com/ is free for all FiOS TV customers. You can find all the soccer action on FiOS TV Channel 1009. Here’s your look at a selection of other programs and sporting events airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

NBA All-Star Celebrity Game: From Houston – 7 pm on ESPN (also airs on TNT on Saturday at 8:30 pm and Sunday at 8 pm)

The History of the Eagle – 8 pm on Showtime

Shark Tank – 9 pm on ABC

CSI:NY – 9 pm on CBS (Josh Groban guest stars)

Saturday:

Pastor Brown – 8 pm on Lifetime

Life Is But a Dream – 9 pm on HBO (watch Beyonce in this documentary and earlier in an interview with Oprah airing on OWN at 8 pm)

Saturday Night Live – 11:30 pm on NBC (Christoph Waltz hosts with musical guest Alabama Shakes)

As you can imagine, Verizon is hard at work making sure its ready for whatever Super Snowstorm Nemo brings its way. Residential customers should contact Verizon online at www.verizon.com/outage or call 1-800-VERIZON (1-800-837-4966) to report any service-related issue, while business customers should contact their regular customer service centers or account teams as needed. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter @Verizon and @VerizonSupport online or on your mobile devices for the latest news and updates.

It’s all about love this week. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, many of your favorite TV shows are getting ready to celebrate. For example, FOX is all about the love Sunday night, starting with “The Cleveland Show” at 7:30 and ending with the 9:30 episode of “American Dad.” There’s a lot more to look forward to as well. Here’s your look at a selection of other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

The Job – 8 pm on CBS

Touch – 8 pm on FOX (season 2 premiere)

The Jenny McCarthy Show – 10:30 pm on VH1

Saturday:

Twist of Faith – 8 pm on Lifetime (original movie starring Toni Braxton)

Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown – 8 pm on ABC

Saturday Night Live – 11:30 pm on NBC (Justin Bieber hosts)

Living in the Northeast you'd think I'd be sick of the cold and snow by now, but nothing warms this geek's heart more than knowing that "Winter is Coming" (again!) on March 31 with the Season 3 premiere of HBO's Game of Thrones. Even more exciting? Verizon FiOS is offering fans of the show a chance to win a grand-prize trip for two to the Los Angeles red carpet premiere on March 18. Hey, it's not a shot at the Iron Throne, but it's definitely the next best thing. There's only one week left, though, to enter for your chance to win the whole pot of golden dragons!

As you may have read on our news center site, Verizon is celebrating Black History Month with special programming for FiOS TV customers. This year, Verizon has created a special video-on-demand folder dedicated to Black History Month that includes more than 60 free titles available throughout the month of February.

Here at Verizon, we’ve brought together some of your favorite networks, along with some networks you may not know as well, to deliver a one-stop shop for a variety of programming related to Black History Month. Networks include ESPN, BET and Music Choice as well as ID Discovery and the Military Channel. You’ll find ESPN’s Michael Jordan special “Jordan Rides a Bus,” a BET special on Maya Angelou and Common, and a variety of music videos from Music Choice. You can also watch “Betty & Coretta,” the Lifetime movie starring Angela Bassett and Mary J. Blige playing the widows of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

Hey, what's the deal with these Roman numerals for the Big Game? Time to go.

The Super Bowl is here! Whether you’re watching the game or you’re in it for the commercials and Beyonce’s half-time show (maybe with a Destiny’s Child reunion?), Sunday night is certainly a night for television. Here’s your look at that and a selection of other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

The 44^th Annual NAACP Image Awards – 8 pm on NBC

Shark Tank – 9 pm on ABC

Blue Bloods – 10 pm on CBS

Saturday:

Betty & Coretta – 8 pm on Lifetime (Angela Bassett & Mary J. Blige play the widows of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X)

2^nd Annual NFL Honors – 9 pm on CBS (hosted by Alec Baldwin)

Austin City Limits – 9 pm on PBS (Tim McGraw performs)

The sound bite, “innovate or die,” stated by Consumer Electronics Association president/CEO Gary Shapiro during this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) rings true.  Those three simple words serve as a battle cry for our industry’s need to keep developing new applications and bringing new services to life for consumers.

During CES, attendees from all walks of life let loose with “oohs” and “aahs” at the large display of cool 4K Ultra HD TVs.  While my jaw couldn’t help but drop at the gorgeous (but ultra pricey) TVs, the theme of interconnectedness between multiple devices and companies was the big takeaway for me at my seventh CES.

But there was another big difference for me at CES this year.

What I’ll never forget is seeing the mammoth show (150,000-plus attendees) from the lens of two Verizon customers.  Long-time followers of the Verizon Community Forum know the two men with whom I spent a lot of time at CES not by face or name, but solely by their online handle as Forum community leaders.

It’s a rare sight to find a Bell System telephone truck from the 1960s cruising down the road today. But if you’re in the New York area, you just might.This 1967 Ford Econoline van, originally used by New York Telephone to run service calls, was completely restored and restocked by Verizon technician John Stallone. To find the truck, Stallone, a local manager for installation and maintenance in New York, took to the one place where you can find just about anything these days: eBay.

If you love football as much as I do, you’re well versed in some of the best (worst?) football clichés around – those tried and true phrases to which broadcasters ‘round the league turn to color their commentary. From the wide receiver that’s “deceptively quick” (instead of “obviously quick” considering how he blew by the entire secondary) to somehow giving more than 100% effort, we all have our favorites. This year, we decided to turn the world of football clichés on its head and assign new meaning to some of them. That way, as you’re enjoying the Big Game Sunday and get one cliché after another thrown your way, you can recall just why football is better with FiOS.  And for the non-football fans, enjoy the commercials since this is the one time a year we don’t fast forward through them since they can be more entertaining than the actual game!

For me, this coming week is all about the SAG Awards on Sunday and the 30 Rock series finale on Thursday. Farewell Liz Lemon! But there’s plenty more to watch. Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

Gold Rush – 8 pm on Discovery

Kitchen Nightmares – 8 pm on FOX

Spartacus – 9 pm on Starz (season premiere)

Saturday:

U.S. Figure Skating Championships – 8 pm on NBC

My Big Redneck Vacation – 9 pm on CMT

Saturday Night Live – 11:30 pm on NBC (Adam Levine hosts with musical guest Kendrick Lamar)

Last week, we took a look back at the invention of the telephone and its evolution through the decades since. For today’s Throwback Thursday, I’ll look at other telecommunication machines that were an integral part of Verizon’s legacy of innovation.

It’s a good thing we’re not all made exactly alike.  If that were the case, our personal and professional life would be incredibly boring not to mention weird.

Having played sports of all types since I was a kid, athletic events involving teams and individuals are very enjoyable for me to watch in person and on TV.

But sports is not everyone’s cup of tea.  In fact, we have many customers for whom watching sports is akin to me watching a fashion or dance program (not fun for me at least).  As my paternal grandfather told me hundreds of times about the importance of how all people are not alike, “Different strokes for different folks.”

And so it is with our FiOS TV offers.  Consumers interested in TV service, but not wanting to pay for more than they need have a new option starting today.

We have a few shows returning this week, like tonight’s premiere of Real Time with Bill Maher, the mid-season premiere of Glee, and season 11 of Project Runway. Plus, FiOS TV is offering three free previews this week. You can find all of the details on that in the One More Note section below. Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week. 

Friday:

Fringe – 8 pm on FOX (series finale)

Oprah’s Next Chapter – 9 pm on OWN (part 2 of the Oprah interview with Lance Armstrong, also available live, online here)

Real Time with Bill Maher – 10 pm on HBO

Saturday:

Prosecuting Casey Anthony – 8 pm on Lifetime

Stuff You Should Know – 10 pm on Science

Saturday Night Live – 11:35 pm on NBC (Jennifer Lawrence hosts with musical guest The Lumineers)

On Dec. 17, Verizon hosted a special event at its corporate headquarters in Basking Ridge called “Legacy of Innovation: A Celebration of Our History,” where Verizon employees and retirees gathered to celebrate the long history of Verizon telecommunications. Verizon veterans and historians brought historic industry artifacts including iconic wireline and wireless phones, an operator switchboard, a teletype machine, a digital base station, and even copper cable samples taken from the New York City vault that were destroyed after Hurricane Sandy.Throughout this month, I will be writing about the evolution of telecommunications and different telephony artifacts and the stories behind them that make up the rich history of Verizon, dating all the way back to 1876 with Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone.

NHL hockey is back this Saturday! Fans won’t want to miss a minute of the season, and the best way to catch all of the action is with NHL Center Ice. The sports package features up to 40 out-of-market games each week during the regular season, as well as replays, a mosaic channel and more.

FiOS TV customers can check out NHL Center Ice during a free preview that starts with the first games this Saturday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. ET. Tune to FiOS TV channels 1475-1488 for non-stop hockey action, available free on FiOS through the end of the month.

There is so much TV excitement coming your way this week! NFL Divisional Playoffs. The Golden Globes. The return of some of your favorite Showtime and HBO series. Plus, Verizon FiOS TV customers are getting a free preview of Showtime and The Movie Channel all weekend. More on that in the One More Note section below. Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

Last Man Standing – 8 pm on ABC

Fringe – 9 pm on FOX

Banshee – 10 pm on Cinemax (series premiere)

Saturday:

NFL Football – 4:30 pm on CBS (Ravens vs. Broncos, followed by Packers vs. 49ers at 8 pm on FOX)

Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual – 9 pm on WE TV

The 2013 Miss America Competition – 9 pm on ABC (tune to ABC at 8 pm for a special 20/20 called “Pageant Confidential”)

The next two weeks are full of brand new shows as well as season premieres of old favorites. Check your listings and some of our suggestions, including the EPIX free preview that begins today (I’ll have more free previews to tell you about next week).  Also, don’t miss the One More Note section if you’re a football lover.  Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

CSI: NY – 9 pm on CBS

Portlandia – 10 pm on IFC (season 3 premiere)

Merlin – 10 pm on Syfy (season 5 premiere)

Saturday:

The Hunger Games – 3:30 pm on EPIX (watch this and more during the EPIX free preview, Fri. through Sun. on FiOS TV Channels 395, 895, 896 and 150)

NFL Football – 4:30 pm on NBC (Bengals vs. Texans, followed by Vikings vs. Packers at 8 pm)

Redneck Island – 9 pm on CMT (season finale)

Welcome to the New Year’s Eve edition of What to Watch. Lots of repeats, movies and specials on TV this week, along with a few new episodes of some of your favorite reality TV shows. Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week. And, happy New Year!

Friday:

Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas – 8:30 pm on FOX

Say Yes To the Dress – 9 pm on TLC (Joan Rivers helps a friend’s daughter)

Teen Trouble – 10 pm on Lifetime

Saturday:

She Made Them Do It – 8 pm on Lifetime (Jenna Dewan-Tatum stars)

The Mob Doctor – 9 pm on FOX

Is there an all-time greatest Christmas movie? With a long list of worthy contenders, it’s a challenge to pick just one. I’ll lay out my top choices and you can decide for yourself.

If you’re like me, you can never have your fill of too many movies. Comedies, romance, drama, cartoons – my family loves it all. And with FiOS, you certainly have an abundance of movies at your fingertips. With a Video on Demand library of 40,000 monthly titles, including 10,000 movies, you certainly have a lot of choices. Not to mention all of the amazing premium movie packages available. And that brings me to the news of the day. Verizon is introducing a brand new movie package called ViewNow.

Just in time for the holidays (and for CES 2013 attendees to demo at the Verizon booth)! Our FiOS TV App on Xbox 360 just got better.

The boundaries between TV and gaming continue to fade as Xbox adds another 49 live FiOS TV channels to the lineup for a total of 75. The new lineup includes a variety of popular channels including: AMC HD, NFL Network, Disney HD, History Channel HD, EPIX HD, PBS Kids Sprout and more.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve discussed what it means to live a borderless lifestyle – a life motivated by connectivity and cultivated through the use of several personal technologies, from laptops and tablets to the Internet-connected smart home, powered by a combination of our all-fiber optic and wireless networks.

We want to give consumers choice and flexibility, and our unique position as an innovation and technology leader allows us to empower consumers to enjoy the content they want anytime, anywhere, on any platform.

In 2013, we’re going to continue exploring the ever-evolving borderless consumer:

With just a little over a week to go until Christmas, you still have plenty of time to catch all of your favorite holiday movies and specials. Plus, there are a few mid-season finales left on the schedule. Here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

Kitchen Nightmares – 8 pm on FOX

The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour – 10 pm on PBS

Winter in Portlandia – 10:30 pm on IFC

Saturday:

One More Shot – 9 pm on Pay-Per-View (the Rolling Stones final performance of its 50^th anniversary shows)

My Fair Wedding: Unveiled – 9 pm on WE TV (season finale featuring Big Brother all-stars Brendon and Rachel)

Six Little McGhees – 10 pm on OWN

Saturday Night Live – 11:30 pm on NBC (Martin Short and Sir Paul McCartney)

Just in time for the holidays, Verizon is giving football fans one more gift this year with the addition of Watch NFL Network to FiOS TV Online. This means that, right in time for the Thursday night Eagles/Bengals game, FiOS customers who receive NFL Network and NFL RedZone as part of their TV package now have the ability to watch programming from the two channels online from any U.S. location with a broadband connection.

Watch NFL Network features live streaming access to NFL Network and NFL RedZone programming, including Thursday Night Football games, shows like “NFL Total Access” and “NFL GameDay,” and more. Plus, FiOS TV customers can watch NFL RedZone live online during the regular season and catch every touchdown for every game on Sunday afternoons.

Christmas movies are special because they have that unfailing ability to transport us to a place where we can momentarily forget about our own holiday anxieties and get lost in the lives of others. In the case of “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” we leave our turmoil to laugh at that of the Griswold family. I’ve met enough people in my lifetime who have never seen this film that I feel compelled to not only ask them if they’ve been living under a rock their whole life, but to tell them – and you now, if you’re one of them – three things about the movie that make it the funniest, most chaotic not-so-family-friendly Christmas classic out there.

Have you started watching holiday movies and specials yet? Let us know if you have any good recommendations! In the meantime, here’s your look at a selection of sporting events and other programs airing on TV during the coming week.

Friday:

Kitchen Nightmares – 8 pm on FOX

Restless – 9 pm on Sundance

Spike TV’s 10^th Annual Video Game Awards – 9 pm on SPIKE

Saturday:

American Giving Awards – 8 pm on NBC

Mario & Courtney’s Wedding Fiesta – 8 pm on TLC

Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4 – 9 pm on Pay-Per-View (Enter here to win a signed glove)

Saturday Night Live – 11:30 pm on NBC (Jamie Foxx hosts and Ne-Yo is the musical guest)

In August and September, we told you about a variety of enhancements that Verizon has been making to FiOS TV Video on Demand.  In our never ending effort to deliver the best in quality video programming and features, we’re introducing even more new features to make the overall FiOS TV on demand experience even better.

Perhaps one of the most exciting enhancements coming your way is a new monthly promotion called “Rent/Buy 3; Get 1 Rental On Us!” Customers who rent or purchase three Flex View or video-on-demand titles within a month will receive one free Flex View rental. That free rental must be redeemed within seven days of the purchase/rental of your third title. Try it this month – purchase or rent three movies in December and qualify for a free Flex View rental.